Suction control handle for surgical aspirator

ABSTRACT

A control handle for a surgical aspirator comprising a rigid tubular body having an axial passage. An external circumferential groove is formed in the body with a plurality of radial holes connecting the bottom of the groove with the passage. An elastic ring seats in the groove and is movable for controlling the magnitude of suction in said passage by adjustably clearing the holes.

United States Patent 1191 Fertik 1 1 Jan.30, 1973 SUCTION CONTROL HANDLE FOR SURGICAL ASPIRATOR [75] Inventor: Ira J. Fertik, Bay Terrace, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Vernitron Corporation, Great Neck,

[22] Filed: Dec. 9, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 96,418

521 user ..1 2s/2,76 511 1m.c1. ..A61m 1 00 58 FieldofSearch ..128/276-278,299-300;

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,823,542 Hertz.. ..15/42l X 1,985,849 12/1934 Allen ..15/42l X 3,375,828 4/1968 Sheridan 3,595,234 7/1971 Jackson ..l28/276 Primary ExaminerCharles F. Rosenbaum Attorney-Edward H. Loveman [57] ABSTRACT A control handle for a surgical aspirator comprising a rigid tubular body having an axial passage. An external circumferential groove is formed in the body with a plurality of radial holes connecting the bottom of the groove with the passage. An elastic ring seats in the groove and is movable for controlling the magnitude of suction in said passage by adjustably clearing the holes.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PAIENIEU JAN 30 I975 SHEET 1 [IF 2 INVENTOR IRA J. FERTIK AT TORNE Y PATENTEDJAN30 191s SHEET 2 BF 2 mm gt 9 mm INVENTOR IRA J. FERTIK ATTORNEY SUCTION CONTROL HANDLE FOR'SURGICAL ASPIRATOR This invention relates to surgical-aspirators and more particularly concerns anzimproved control handlefor a surgical aspirator.

Suction catheters, aspirators and evacuators have been used heretofore for aspiration of mucus from nose, mouth, pharynx, trachea andbronchi of patients, for evacuating the'contents of uteri and'other body organs. The precise, instant control of suction applied to a body organ has always presented considerable-difficulty. Usually suctionhas beencontrollediby placing a thumb or forefinger over'an aperture near the prox-- imal end of a catheter or evacuator. This method of control has proven unsatisfactory because the. doctor ornurse handling'the instrument'must often have both hands free to manipulate the instrumentiwhile the suction remains on. However, when thehand closing the suction control aperture is removed, the suction undesirably drops by venting to outside atmosphere. Various expedients have been proposed and tried in the past for controllably shuttingoffthe aperturesin'instruments used for aspirations, but they have not gained general professional acceptance because of many undesirable features.

The present invention is directed at overcoming the drawbacks and'disadvantages of prior suction control devices of surgical aspirators and at providing a new,

improved, simpleand safe control handle for a surgical aspirator.

According to the invention a control handle for a surgical aspirator is proved which serves as a coupling device between a suction pump and the. instrument which is inserted into the patients body for application of suction thereto. The handle is tubular inform and is provided with an external circumferential groove at the inside of which are circumferentially spaced radial holes. An elastic rubberring movably seats on curved shoulders formed at outer edges of the groove. This ring normally seals off the'interior of thecontrol handle from outside atmosphere. However, the user of the in strument, by application of thumb, forefinger or any one or more fingers may displacethe elastic ring. partially or entirely and canthus effect'control of suction applied to the patient. The. control handle includes provisions for a fitting by means of which asuction hose from a suctionpump may be quickly and easily connected to the control handle.

It is therefore a principal objectof the present invention to provide a control handle for a surgical aspirator, wherein an elastic ring. is movably seated in an external circumferential groovehaving spaced radial holes.

A further objectof the present invention is to provide a control handleof the type described having a rigid tubular body which is dimensionsally, stable, resistant to chemical decomposition, light in weight, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture These and other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understoodby reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying'drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sideview of a control handle embodying theinvention, shown held inone hand and manipulated by fingers to control the applied suction;

FIG. 2is anenlarged side view of the control handle shown with parts of a suction hose and evacuating instrument connected. thereto;

FIG; 3" is a further enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken along line.3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinalsectional view of the handle per se with the control ring mounted thereon;

FIG. 5-is a-transverse sectional view taken along line 55ofFlG. 3;

FIG. 6-is a transverse sectionalview taken along line 66 ofFIG. 4;

FIG; 7 is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of FIG. 3 showing one way the control ring of the device may bemanipulated and set; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of parts of the device ona-reduced'scale.

Referring, now to the drawings wherein life reference characters designate like or corresponding parts" throughout, there is illustrated a control handle generally designated as reference numeral 10 for a surgical aspirator assembly. The handle. 10 as most clearly shown in FIG. 3 has a. tubular body 11 with one cuplike end portion 12 being cylindrical with a cylindrical passage portion 15. Thebody portion l2'has a bead'14 on its free end and is adapted to receive a cylindrical end portion 16 of anipple 20 which serves to couple a hose or pipe 22 to the handle 10. The other end of the hose. 22 terminates at asuction pump (not shown).

The tubular body 1-1 has a cylindrical passage portion'25 which is concentric with the passage 15 and communicates with an outwardly flaring conical passage 26'. A portionl3 of the exterior of the tubular body 11. flares outwardly and at its cross section of maximum diameter the tubular body 1 l isformed with an external circumferential groove 30. A plurality of circumferentially spaced radial holes 32 are formed in the insidewall 26a of the groove to provide lateral communication between the interior and exterior of thetubular body 11. The outer rims 33 of the opposing edges of the groove 30 are concave as clearly shown in FIGS. 3,4 and 7. These concave rims are annular and extend'circumferentially all around body 11 as best illustrated inFIGS. 6, 7 and 8. End portion 35 of body 11 is tapered from groove 30 to the free end of body 1 1.

An elastic ring made of natural or artificial rubber seats snugly on the seats or shoulders defined by the concave rims 33-to seal the groove 30 and the holes 32. This ring can be rolled or moved axially of the tubular body 1 l to clear the entire groove as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 6. Alternatively it may be stretched and moved obliquely as shown in FIG. 7 so that part of the ring 40 remains engaged in'the groove 30 and other parts are partially or wholly clear of the holes 32; Displacement of the ring 40is performed by any one or more fingers F of hand H which holds the handle 10 as shown'in FIG. 1. The handlemay be held in theright or left hand with equal facility.

The conical passage portion 26 of the body 11 may receivea tapered end 42 of a catheter'tube, uterine evacuator tip or other instrument 43 (FIG. 8). The end 42 of the instrument 43 will be snugly engaged but may easily bepulled axially out of the body 11.

The. nipple 20which fits into the. end portion 12 of the body 11' has a circumferential groove 45 in which a compressible sealingring 46 may be seated; The'ring 46 normally extends radially outwardly of the cylindrical portion 16 of the nipple 20 as shown in FIG. 8. However when the nipple 20 is fully inserted into the end portion 12 of the body 11 as shown in FIG. 3 the ring 46 is compressed and hermetically seals the space between the nipple 20 and the wall of body portion 12. This ring also serves as a friction gripping member to hold the nipple 20 in the tubular body 11. A pair of spaced conical portions 48 are formed at the distal end of the nipple 20. These serve as friction gripping elements to engage the proximal end of hose 22. The free end of the hose 22 will fit into an annular enlargement 50 of passage portion 15.

The handle is preferably made of rigid, transparent plastic material which may be sterilized for repeated use. Other suitable materials are acetate copolymers, polystyrene, aluminum etc. These materials are dimensionally stable, light in weight, relatively inexpensive, and easy to manufacture. Fitting is preferably made of nylon or other tough, durable material which may be sterilized for repeated use. Both handle 10 and fitting 20 are resistant to chemical decomposition. They resist acid, alkaline, and other chemical agents. The nylon fitting has a smooth selflubricated surface to facilitate attachment of the hose 22.

The handle 10 may be held in the hand conveniently and comfortably. Ring 40 is easily manipulated for suction control. It may be left in place as shown in the drawings partially or fully closing the holes 34 or fully clear of the holes, to leave the hand H free for handling of the patient or instrument 43, or for performing other tasks while the suction applied remains constant depending on the setting of the ring 40. The ring 40 may be replaced after each use if desired or it may be sterilized for repeated use. All parts of the assembly may be quickly disassembled for cleaning.

It should be understood that the foregoing relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the pur poses of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:

l. A control handle controlling the suction to a surgical aspirator, comprising a tubular, rigid body having an axial passage therethrough, said body having an external circumferential groove with a plurality of circumferentially spaced radial holes in said groove extending into said passage for providing lateral communication between said passage and the exterior of said body,

an elastic ring seated in said groove and manually displaceable at least in part axially of said body for adjustably clearing said holes to control the magnitude of suction in said passage,

one end portion of said body being shaped to engage an end of an instrument for applying suction to an organ of a patient, and

an opposite other end portion of said body being arranged to engage a flexible suction pipe for applying suction to said instrument via said tubular body, whereby partially displacing said elastic ring from saidgroove will decrease the amount of suction to san instrument and complete displacement of said ring from said groove will remove all suction from said instrument.

2. A control handle as recited in claim 1, wherein said groove has annular shoulders formed at outer edges of said groove for movably seating said ring, the external diameter of said ring being larger than the diameter of said body at said groove and extending radially to facilitate manipulation of said ring by the fingers of one hand grasping said body.

3. A control handle as recited in claim 2 further comprising a nipple having a cylindrical end portion for engaging said other end portion of said body, said cylindrical end portion of said nipple having another external circumferential groove formed therein, and a compressible sealing ring seated in said other groove for sealing said cylindrical end portion of said nipple to said other end portion of said tubular body.

4. A control handle as recited in claim 3, wherein said nipple is formed with a plurality of conical elements extending axially of said nipple for gripping said suction pipe.

5. A control hand as recited in claim 1, wherein said tubular body is formed of a dimensionally stable, sterilizable material.

6. A control handle as recited in claim 1, wherein said passage at said one end portion of said tubular body is conical and flares outwardly for detachably engaging the end of said instrument.

7. A control handle as recited in claim 6, wherein said body has portions intermediate its ends which are respectively cylindrical and conical to facilitate grasping said body while manipulating said ring.

8. A control handle as recited in claim 4, wherein said other end portion of said tubular body is cylindrical for receiving both said cylindrical end portion of said nipple and the free end of said suction pipe. 

1. A control handle controlling the suction to a surgical aspirator, comprising a tubular, rigid body having an axial passage therethrough, said body having an external circumferential groove with a plurality of circumferentially spaced radial holes in said groove extending into said passage for providing lateral communication between said passage and the exterior of said body, an elastic ring seated in said groove and manually displaceable at least in part axially of said body for adjustably clearing said holes to control the magnitude of suction in said passage, one end portion of said body being shaped to engage an end of an instrument for applying suction to an organ of a patient, and an opposite other end portion of said body being arranged to engage a flexible suction pipe for applying suction to said instrument via said tubular body, whereby partially displacing said elastic ring from said groove will decrease the amount of suction to said instrument and complete displacement of said ring from said groove will remove all suction from said instrument.
 1. A control handle controlling the suction to a surgical aspirator, comprising a tubular, rigid body having an axial passage therethrough, said body having an external circumferential groove with a plurality of circumferentially spaced radial holes in said groove extending into said passage for providing lateral communication between said passage and the exterior of said body, an elastic ring seated in said groove and manually displaceable at least in part axially of said body for adjustably clearing said holes to control the magnitude of suction in said passage, one end portion of said body being shaped to engage an end of an instrument for applying suction to an organ of a patient, and an opposite other end portion of said body being arranged to engage a flexible suction pipe for applying suction to said instrument via said tubular body, whereby partially displacing said elastic ring from said groove will decrease the amount of suction to said instrument and complete displacement of said ring from said groove will remove all suction from said instrument.
 2. A control handle as recited in claim 1, wherein said groove has annular shoulders formed at outer edges of said groove for movably seating said ring, the external diameter of said ring being larger than the diameter of said body at said groove and extending radially to facilitate manipulation of said ring by the fingers of one hand grasping said body.
 3. A control handle as recited in claim 2 further comprising a nipple having a cylindrical end portion for engaging said other end portion of said body, said cylindrical end portion of said nipple having another external circumferential groove formed therein, and a compressible sealing ring seated in said other groove for sealing said cylindrical end portion of said nipple to said other end portion of said tubular body.
 4. A control handle as recited in claim 3, wherein said nipple is formed with a plurality of conical elements extending axially of said nipple for gripping said suction pipe.
 5. A control hand as recited in claim 1, wherein said tubular body is formed of a dimensionally stable, sterilizable material.
 6. A controL handle as recited in claim 1, wherein said passage at said one end portion of said tubular body is conical and flares outwardly for detachably engaging the end of said instrument.
 7. A control handle as recited in claim 6, wherein said body has portions intermediate its ends which are respectively cylindrical and conical to facilitate grasping said body while manipulating said ring. 